This invention relates generally to social networking systems, and in particular, to managing social networking system access based on user age.
Under certain government regulations, such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), operators of social networking systems and other online services that are directed towards children or that may otherwise collect personal information from children are required to obtain parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of the children's personal information. Parental consent is also appropriate when children request access to social networking systems and/or other online services that contain mature content or are primarily directed to adults.
Conventionally, parental authorization can be obtained through methods such as requiring credit card information, contacting the parent directly (i.e., via mail or fax), or obtaining a parent's signature on a consent form. These methods may be ineffective and burdensome on a larger scale, especially when hundreds or thousands of children request access to a website each day. Additionally, methods for obtaining parental consent can be subject to fraud and inaccuracies because website operators lack sufficient information to verify that the person providing consent is the child's parent. For example, a child may take his parent's credit card and use it to gain access to a website without the parent's consent. Additionally, online systems, such as social networking systems, are unable to effectively notify parents of their children's interactions over the systems or allow parents to manage a child's online system use.